What age groups are used, and how is my age group decided?

Australian Masters Athletics governs athletics for men and women aged 30 and over. Its championships cater for all athletes, male and female, including Para athletes, in five-year age groups starting at thirty (30-34, 35-39 and so on). Your age group is decided by your age on the first day of competition, and in individual events athletes may only compete within their own age group.

WMA's 2026 Rules of Competition (amended 5 December 2025) set the international groups from age 35: M35/W35 (35-39), M40/W40 (40-44) up to M95/W95 (95-99), and M100+/W100+, with groups over 100 still run in five-year steps. For WMA competition the age group is set by date of birth on the first day of competition, and for records by date of birth on the day of the record.

Para athletes can compete in any event as long as it does not lead to unreasonable disruption of the programme (for example, seated throws are unlikely to be accommodated), but there is no separate award or record category for Para athletes.